No matter where you live -- from a bustling metropolis to a wide spot in the road with a flashing yellow light as the only traffic governance -- you can hear music on your radio.

Maybe it's rock, maybe country, maybe hip-hop, top 40, urban, oldies or even polka. But the odds are that unless your music comes from satellite radio or you happen to be awake at 3 a.m., the closest you'll get to traditional jazz is in the elevator Muzak at work. And that's what makes the mission of the Tri-C JazzFest, which launches its 34th annual foray into the genre at 5 p.m. todaywith a pre-show party for tonight'sAaron Neville and Dr. John concert at Playhouse Square's State Theatre, such a vital one.

"I feel that jazz is in a bit of a suspended state today," Cuyahoga Community College studentErica Nalow wrote in response to a request from Steve Enos, the college's director of jazz studies.

Enos asked a few of his students to comment on the state of the genre today, whether the absence of a radio presence was a factor and how to help the current generation get in touch with the beauty of the art form that is jazz.

"To society, it's a dead music," Nalow lamented. "Most people view it as a style that is only heard occasionally at a winery or nightclub."

There's a sort of domino effect, too. Because radio ignores jazz, it's tough for jazz musicians to find paying gigs -- at least gigs that pay enough to eat on a regular basis. So they turn to other, more profitable genres just to put food on the table.

Striving to appeal

to the 'Xbox generation'

But that means less exposure in a world that already is full of distractions, such as social media, video games, television, gossip and the like, Nalow said. So it becomes a daunting task to draw new, young audiences to the art form. And it's one she and fellow student Mike Luo said they are up to taking on.

"I strongly believe that the key to attracting the 'Xbox generation' to jazz lies heavily in our abilities as musicians to innovate and to propel jazz into the 21st century," wrote Luo in response to the same assignment.

"That's today," Cleveland native Joe Lovano, who will bring his Us Five quintet to the JazzFest on its closing weekend, April 27, said in a separate interview.

"When I was growing up around Cleveland, there was an AM jazz station," Lovano said. "I graduated Euclid High School in 1971, and I heard so many things.

"The support of radio goes beyond words," Lovano said. "When it's not happening, it's really a drag."

Peg Neeson, the community relations director for WCPN FM/90.3, said that the station airs about 29 hours of jazz each week. But it's primarily on from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

"Overnight, the audience listening to jazz on 'CPN is pretty consistent," she said. "Twenty-nine hours a week is a pretty significant number of hours, I would say. But there are a lot of places to listen to jazz besides just the radio."

Even those selling the music are having a tough go of it, and not just in jazz, which accounts for 10 percent or less of music sales.

"For the industry as a whole, it's been a rough decade," said Jason Linder, the vice president of marketing at Cleveland-based Concord Media Group.

The Internet and options like Spotify all are making it a challenge for the business.

But he noted that jazz -- pure jazz -- hasn't always relied on radio to sell.

"I don't know that for traditional jazz, radio was a huge driver, not in recent times," Linder said. "It's different for smooth jazz because the radio format did sell records. We are lucky that we have The Wave [WAVE FM/107.3] back on the airwaves here."

'I want my audience

to feel the music'

Tri-C alumnus Dominick Farinacci, a trumpeter and rising star in the jazz world, puts the onus for drawing people into the music squarely on himself.

"I want my audience to feel the music in their heart and soul, laugh and cry, and leave feeling great and energized about what just happened," Farinacci said in an emailed response for comment.

"I'm not so concerned with getting people to 'appreciate' the music, because if they can feel it and relate to it, then they WILL appreciate it."

Farinacci will return to his alma matter for a concert at the school at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday as part of the JazzFest's Downbeat program. He'll team with pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist Paul Sikivie, drummer Lawrence Leathers, and recent Thelonious Monk Competition winner vocalist Cecile McLorin-Salvant as well as the Tri-C JazzFest All Stars.

Tickets for the show are $15.

"Somewhere along the way, our music has been branded as an art form that people must learn to appreciate, but if they can't connect their lives to it, what's the point," Farinacci wrote. "It's entertainment."

'Jazz is in the DNA

of the human expression'

Farinacci's obvious enthusiasm for the genre is inherent, and it's clear that it's been enhanced by his former teacher, Enos. But really, none of us has any choice but to love jazz, at least according to Enos.

"Jazz is in the DNA of the human expression," said Enos, preaching in his cluttered but comfortable office in the music and arts building of the school's downtown campus. The walls are adorned with photos of jazz greats, and instrument cases and music stands are the primary decoration.

Enos isn't just a jazz teacher; he's a musician and as such, a disciple. His mustache is neatly cropped to ensure a perfect fit for the trumpet he plays with an elite collection of musicians in the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, the Ernie Krivda Fat Tuesday Band and Omnibus Orchestra.

JazzFest Managing Director Terri Pontremoli shares the passion of Enos and his students. Alternately serious and bubbly in a separate interview, she said she's aware of the mountain that must be climbed, but won't shirk from the task.

"We're in a different place," Pontremoli conceded, "but the music is as vital as ever."

One roadblock is that people tend to pigeonhole jazz music itself and stereotype jazz musicians and fans, she said. But the reality is that what Enos said about the style being in the DNA of all music is accurate.

That's why a great player like Ray Charles was able to shift between different genres, from R&B to country to blues to Motown.

"Michael Jackson went to another level when Quincy Jones came in and surrounded him with jazz musicians," Enos said. "Even with Jay-Z: Playing hip-hop with live jazz players is what put him over the top."

But the task still falls on institutions like the 34-year-old JazzFest to start the salvation process. It's an obligation Pontremoli clearly feels. She ran the festival from 1979 to 2004, then joined the Detroit Jazz Festival, eventually becoming its director, and returned to Cleveland when organizers there opted against renewing her contract.

Certain things came first to Pontremoli when she came back to town.

"The JazzFest had lost some of its commitment to the community," she said. "We're working hard to make that successful." Hence, the free pre-concert party in the lobby of PlayhouseSquare's State Theatre lobby from 5 to 7 p.m. It will feature the music of Detroit's Nadir & the Distorted Souls.

Obviously one of the festival's goals is, as Enos said, to bring in world-class artists and expose the city to their music. To that end, this year's festival includesLovano, Neville, Dr. John, Robert Glasper, Kenny Garrett, Michael Feinstein and the great Natalie Cole.

But the educational aspect of the festival also is crucial. Many of the artists will conduct workshops, not just with Tri-C students, but with music students and band directors from all around Northeast Ohio in something called the Downbeat Invitational.

Exposure to music like this will ensure its survival. After all, it worked for Enos, whose father's "day job" was as a drummer at burlesque theater. Sonny Stephens -- his dad's stage name -- instilled the love for the music in Enos, and the Berklee College of Music grad is intent on returning the favor. It helps that the headlining artists are as generous as they are.

"They're getting paid, but it's not consistent with the time they're taking to share the art form," Enos said.

Related Stories

CONCERT CALENDAR

What are the big concerts coming to Northeast Ohio this year? Search this database to find upcoming concert schedules and event information at more than 20 major venues in Greater Cleveland, Akron and beyond. ... Read more»

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.